Wednesday 8/2

If you miss Toni Schlesinger's weekly Shelter column (which ran in the Voice for nearly a decade) as much as we do, don't despair; many of her best pieces have been squeezed into a 320-page anthology entitled Five Flights Up and Other New York Apartment Stories (Princeton Architectural Press). Whether Schlesinger's interviewing a couple with two kids living in a 295-square-foot studio in Little Italy, or a man whose living room serves as a giant pinhole camera, her curiosity and enthusiasm make interviewees feel just as comfortable talking about their homes as they do about their lives. Tonight, Schlesinger reads from and discusses Five Flights Up and will surely convince the crowd that she is the book's most fascinating character. At 6:30, Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, 212-968-1961, free KEN SWITZER

illustration: Johanna Goodman

[Discussion]

Conscious cuisine
Tips on choosing environmentally friendly food

New York chef and environmentalistJay Weinstein is on a mission to save the earth from its most gluttonous inhabitantshumans. And who can blame him with global warming, soil erosion, and the disappearance of marine life on the rise. This afternoon, the Culinary Institute graduate offers tips on how to satisfy the palate without sucking mother earth dry and discusses his new cookbook The Ethical Gourmet: How to Enjoy Great Food That Is Humanely Raised, Sustainable, Nonendangered, and That Replenishes the Earth. Weinstein will put you on the path to pesticide-free foods and reveal the truth about bottled water, as well as explain the meaning of organic and ethical produce. Just because the food is environmentally friendly doesn't mean it has to taste like crapthe cookbook provides 100 savory recipes to choose from. At noon, Makor, Steinhardt Building, 35 West 67th Street, $16 KEISHA FRANKLIN

'Bullshit government," "bastard military," and "rapist politicians" are a few of the in-your-face statements used by Thai rebel artist Vasan Sitthiket to express his disgust with Thailand's elite. Tonight, the puppet master shares his political art during "Emerging From Shadows: Contemporary Voices in Thai Puppet Theater." This evening, Sitthiket, presents an original Thai work adapted into English. Also appearing is fellow Thai native, Nutjaporn Swasdiprom, a member of the Wandering Moon Theater Company; she will be contributing a video presentation. The show will be followed by a Q&A session with the artists. At 7, Asian Cultural Center, 15 East 40th Street, 2nd floor, 212-679-8833, acclub.org, $5 suggested donationANDREW ABER